Pipe-turner.



J. F. KEENAN.

PIPE TURNER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30, 1913.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

2 SHEETS$HEET I.

IN V EN TOR. Eh; EJ51 074 WITNESSES:

A TTOR NE Y.

J. F. KEENAN.

PIPE TURNER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. so. 1913.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

2 SHEETS*-SHEET 2.

IN VENTOR. dZfi/r FZEwM/Y BY WITNESSES:

A TTORNE Y.

UNITED STAT S PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. KEENAN, OF TAYLOR, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR TO DENNY-BENTON CLAY AND' COAL (10., 0F SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, A CORPORATION OF WASHINGTON.

PIPE-TURNER. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application filed April 30, 1913. Serial No. 764,543.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN F. KEENAN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at tic state as delivered from the pipe-forming mold.

The object of the invention is the zperfecting; of devices of this character so-that the referred to operation may be facilitated and without dangerof distorting the pipe.-

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In, the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of devices embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same. Fig. '3 is a view to an enlarged scale shown partly in side elevation and partly in section of the pipe-turning mechanism. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the carriage.

The reference numeral 5 represents trackrails supported upon the joists 6 of a building structure and disposed at a distance below a floor. Provided for said track is a carriage comprising side members 8 carrying the car-wheels 9, and parallel transverse members 10 and 11 winch are rigidly connected to the side members adjacent to the rear ends of the latter.

Diagonally arranged braces 12 are utilized to rigidly connect the members 8 and 11 as indicated in Figs. 1 and .4 and also contribute to the support of the bars 13 upon 'which the pipe rests while being transported upon the carriage. Said bars are each provided with a horizontal portion 14 which protrudes forwardly from the carriage member 11 and to the rear of the latter the bars are turned downwardly, as at 15, and terminates with an upwardly extending portion 16 which is juxtaposed with the car- I riage member 10. Bolts 17 extend through vertically disposed slots, as 18, in the bar ends 16 and also through horizontal slots, such as 19, provided in the member 10 whereby the bars are rendered adjustable both as to height and lateral directions to accommodate pipes of different diameters. In practice, shim-pieces or fillers 20 are interposed between the bars and the member *11 and braces 12 when the bars are raised a distance thereabove. I

The bars 13 should be located so that a sewer pipe 21 may rest upon the bars in proxlmlty tov the braces 12, as indicated by broken lines 21 in Fig. 1, thereby relieving the protruding portions of the bars of undue strains.

As illustrated, the carriage is operated by a cable 22 having .its ends attached thereto and passing about guide sheaves 23 to a winding drum 24. Mounted upon the drum shaft 25 is a friction pulley 26 which may be rotated to cause the carriage to travel in the proper direction by means of friction wheels or pinions'27 or 28 mounted upon a power driven shaft 29. Such driving pinions may be individually brought into couple with the pulley 26 by axially shifting the shaft 29 through the medium of a lever 30 which is connected by a rod 31 with a controlling lever 32.

The pipe after being formed in an upright cylindrical mold of ordinary or suitable construction, is supported from the mold while a socket-board 33 is introduced into the depending pipe-hub. The former 34 is then raised upon the piston- .rod 35 of a power cylinder'against the under side of said socket-board to thereby support the pipe 21 while being cut oil to a predetermined length, whereupon the pipe is lowered with the socket-board resting upon the Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

thus held, the pipe is transported upon the carriage to the cradle 36 of the pipe-turning works which I will now describe.

The referred to cradle, as best shown in Fig. 3, comprises a frame constituted of a plurality of slats 37 secured in spaced relations to the inner peripheral surfaces of semi-circular ribs 38 and 39, whereof the rib 38 is disposed in proximity to the midlengths of the slats and the others, 39, are

in proximity to theends of the same. These ribs are sufiiciently flexible to yield somewhat to the weight of the pipe when the pipe is being inverted, in order to prevent the crushing of the pipe. During the ultimate movement of the cradle, the resiliency of the ribs is asserted to restore the pipe to a round condition. The central rib 38 -is se-' cured to a saddle-block 40 which, in turn, is detachably secured. as by U-shaped bolts 41,'to .a horizontal shaft 42 which serves as and 47 provided at their lower and upper ends, respectively, with forwardly extending arms 46 and 47 The arms 46 are arranged to engage the underside of a socket-board to raise the pipe preparatory to tilting the same. The other arms 47 support the axles of rollers 48 whereupon is deposited a pallet 49 as-the pipe is being inverted; said pallet being in terposed between the pipe and said rollers prior to the operation of turning. The trunnion shaft 42 has mounted thereon and adjacent to its ends semi-circular or sector gear wheels 50 having spur-teeth which engage with spur-pinions 51 provided-upon a horizontal shaft 52 which is disposed below the shaft 42.- A spur gear 53 is mounted on the shaft 52 and is in mesh with'a pinion 54 which is carried by a' third horizontal shaft 55. Secured to the last named shaft is a friction wheel 56 which is arranged to be engaged by either of the wheels 57 or 58 provided upon a power driven shaft 59 whereby the shaft 55 may be rotated in either direction to correspondingly infiuence the cradle with respect to the axis of the trunnion shaft 42.

60 represents a forked lever operatively connected by a controlling lever 61 and engaging in a grooved collar 62 provided on shaft 59 whereby thelatter may be axially shifted to present either of the wheels 57 or 58 into frictional engagement with the wheel 56 when the cradle is to be turned in one direction or the other, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

63 represents a brake wheel provided on the shaft 55 to coiip'erate with braking devices such as a band, indicated by 64, for relieving the cradle-turning mechanism during the ultimate turning movements of the cradle. Said brake-band is desirably regulated through the agency of a foot-pedal 65 which is connected with. the brake-band in -WVhen thus supported the carriage is moved in direction indicated by arrow A, Fig. 2.

by means of the cable 22 and the feeding mechanism therefor to convey the pipe into the cradle and occupy the position in which it is represented by broken lines as in the view. To insure the pipe being carried into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cradle-frame; that is to say-against the slats 37, the carriage is usually caused to travel a short distance beyond what is necessary, the socket-board 34 thereupon sliding upon the'carriage-bars 13' with no injury to the pipe. l/Vith the pipe in such dotted line position, the arms 46 and 47 are respec tively presented below,and above the socket- 'board 33 and the pallet 49. With the arms thus disposed, the operator manipulates the lever 61 to impart longitudinal motion to shaft 59 to cause friction wheel 58 to engage friction wheel 56 thereby rotating the-latter, whereupon the associated gearing is actuated to afford rotary motion to the trunnion shaft 42 to revolve the cradle and the contained pipe in the direction denoted by arrow 3 in Fig. 2. Inasmuch as the sector gear 50 is of a semi-circular shape when a half revolution is effected thereto through the'instrumentality of the pinion 51, the latter becomes inoperative coincidentally with the cradle being transposed from one side of the trunnion shaft to the opposite side. The cradle is arrested by the bars 47 engaging against shaft 52 or'another stop which may be provided'for that purpose. In such condition of the cradle, the pipe is in its inverted position, resting on the pallet which is supported by the-rollers 48, whence the pipe, while on the pallet, may be readily drawn from the cradle upon floor rollers 70 and with the hub of the pipe uppermost. When the pipe has been removed from the cradle, the shaft 59 is shifted by the operator to cause the wheel 57 to become operative to efi'ect the reverse movement of the cradle so as to be in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to receive another pipe.

With relatively heavy pipes the brake de-. vices are advantageously utilized to relieve the cradle-turning mechanism of excessive strains. 1

The cradle 36 by being constructed of slats 37 secured to resilient ribs 38 and 39 afford a frame which is normally semi-circular in horizontal section adapted to embrace the exterior of a pipe and tends to hold the same in circular shape. When the cradle, however, is tilted upwardly and the Weight of the pipe transferred from an end to diametric direction, the cradle ribs yield or spread out so that the Weight of the pipe is distributed over a more extended area than would obtain Were the cradle to remain circular. As the inverting of a pipe proceeds the weight of the same is gradually transposed from the slats to the arms 47 with a corresponding return of the cradle to its original semi-circular configuration and thereby restoring the pipe into circular form.

What I claim, is-

1. In devices of the class described, a carriage for conveying a pipe, said carriage comprising longitudinal members, and transverse members, braces secured to both the longitudinal members and one of the transverse members, and longitudinal bars supported by said transverse members and said braces.

2. In a device of the class described, a carriage having a rigid frame comprising side members and transverse members and braces disposed in angular relations with respect to said members, bars adjustably secured to one of said transverse members and being supported by the other of the transverse members and also by Said braces.

3. In a device of the class described, a carriage for conveying a pipe, said carriage comprising longitudinal frame bars, a pair of spaced transverse bars connecting the longitudinal bars, brace rods connecting one of said transverse bars with the longitudinal bars, and pipe supporting arms adjustably connected atone end to one of said transverse bars and resting on the other of said transverse bars and brace rods.

4. In a device of the class described, a carriage for conveying a pipe, said carriage comprising a substantially U-shaped frame, brace bars arranged diagonally of said frame, and pipe supporting arms adjustably connected to said frame to be partially supported by said brace bars.

5. A device of the class described including horizontal side and end bars, brace rods extending diagonally across the carriage and horizontally arranged pipe supporting means carried by the carriage and supported by said brace rods.

6. In a device of the class described, a carriage for conveying pipe, said carriage including horizontally-arranged longitudinal and transverse bars, diagonal brace bars connecting the longitudinal and transverse bars, and pipe-supporting members carried by the transverse bar disposed Within and parallel to the longitudinal bars.

7. In a device of the class described, a carriage for conveying pipe, horizontal pipe-supporting members carried by the carriage and adjustable in lateral directions, and brace rods extending diagonally across the carriage arranged to support said members.

8. In a device of the class described, a carriage for c'onveying pipe, laterally adjustable horizontal pipe-supporting members carried by the carriage, and brace rods extending forwardly in diverging directions beneath said members whereby the supports for each of said members are advanced toward its forward extremity as the distancebetween the members is increased.

Signed at Seattle, Washington, this 18th day of April, 1913.

JOHN F. KEENAN.

Witnesses:

PIERRE BARNES, E. PETERSON. 

